he was a world war ii medal of honor winner who lost an arm to a german hand grenade in italy. he became the first japanese american in congress and served 50 years in the u.s. senate. his death was announced by harry reid. >> the kindness that he has shown me for me time here in the senate has been something i will cherish always. a man who has lived and breathed the senate. he was that patriot. >> very kind words. president obama also a native of hawaii tweeted aloha yesterday. he died yesterday at 88 years old. >>> there is progress in talks on the fiscal cliff, but major sticking points still remain with just two weeks to go. a top republican says there is disagreement over spending cuts versus new taxes and until that could be worked out, there won't be any talks about the specific details. and wall street closed higher over signs of the talks. the dow jones rose 100 points for its biggest gain of the month. early markets overseas also higher because of capitol hill optimism. and a bounce back in china's economy. >>> a holiday miracle for drivers as plunging gas prices hit